Pechelito’s Place: Raucous, Chaotic and Seedy Resort

Pechelito’s Place 
Raucous, Chaotic and Seedy Resort

I never heard about Pechelito’s Place before until

we were invited by my sister-in law for a dinner in the

resort where they would be apparently staying overnight.

It is located in Magarao, Camarines Sur and going there

is just like driving in a meandering maze of narrow and

 sometimes pocked- marked subdivision roads,



When we arrived, there were several groups of men

seated around an outdoor garden table, passing a whiskey

in a drinking glass, having fun the ‘tagay- tagay’ style.

One of them stood up dressed in a police uniform and

greeted us saying “Welcome to Pechelito’s Place”

 

A young lady also welcomed us and asked if
we are checking in and if we have a reservation.

 We informed her that we were invited by

 someone else, and she took us to their room.

The place was huge and there was a man- made pond

surrounded by huts and cabanas, and all of them seemed

 to have been equipped with a karaoke,  filled with people

drinking alcohol and singing at the top of their voices.

Every dark nook around the lake seemed to have

people seated around a garden table, getting drunk,

hiding and obscured by the darkness of the night.





We were brought to a lake side cabana and we were told

that my sister in law’s family has not checked in yet, but

the staff was nice enough to let us get inside the room.



The room looked okay and comfortable.

It was well lighted, clean and had a rather

tiny air-conditioning unit for that room.



It had two boxed type plywood beds

topped with a about 3 inches of foam.

On the bed were neatly folded white towels,

some obviously needing replacement, and

guests were provided with basic toiletries.

 



It had a nice and clean bathroom,

 

…and interestingly, it had a pail and a dipper,

...and to our horror- there was no toilet paper.

 

We were given tissue papers after asking for one.

When we called their attention that we were asking

for a toilet paper, not tissue paper we were told

that those are the ones they give to their guests.

The room had a scenic balcony overlooking

the man- made lake with the direct view of

the cabanas and cottages surrounding the lake,



…but each of them has their own Karaoke Sets

and everyone seem to be singing on earsplitting 

levels, and this raucous balcony is not a place to

stay if one is looking for some peace and quiet.



 

The room also has a flat screen TV.

One had to ask for assistance from the staff

to turn it on as it is located too  far away from

the electrical outlet and they would provide

the guests an extension wire that had to go

all the way to the other side of the room.

I find it strange as why would one install an

appliance so far away from the power source? 

If it happened in my house, I would have fired

my architect and my interior decorator for not

having a proper plan and for not coordinating.

The TV does not have a remote and

had to be turned on and off manually.

There was no available Wi Fi in the room.

We were already hungry as took a little

 more time for our dinner host to arrive,

so we decided to  order something to eat.

The problem with this hotel is that they

 did not have any phone or an intercom

in the room so one had to walk around the

lake just to order food for room service.





Ordering is done on the front desk and we chose

Club House and Ham and Egg Sandwiches.

We also ordered Diet Sodas for us but they

have none so we settled for bottled water.

It's kinda weird that this resort sells almost

all kinds of wines and spirits but they have

none of the healthier diet drinks.

They delivered the sandwiches in our room which we

shared,  but we noted that the ham and egg sandwich,

…and the club house sandwich tasted the same.

On a closer look, we found out that both were

made of the same stuff-  ham and egg.

   They just cut it into quarters, added chips on it

and labeled it as a club house sandwich. Cool.

 

We were already halfway with our sandwiches

when our dinner hosts arrived…

…and they brought along tons and tons
 of food that they cooked at home and

 that was the reason why they were late.

 

The kids bonded with 
their cousins for a while,

…and later our hosts decided to have

a karaoke session by the balcony.



Out came the hotel staff tagging along

bundles and bundles of  electrical extension,

which they plugged on the TV extension,
creating a dangerous octopus connection.



The wires stretched on tangled mess all the way

 to the balcony where the  Karaoke set was.



When I told that staff that is not safe for those convoluted

wires lying around the floor, he decided to hide it

at the rear end of the room and under the beds.







Then,  it was time for them to for

 their own karaoke bonding.

 



Shortly after, the singing began, which annoyingly

intermingled  with the  dreadful out of tune voices

blaring from other cabanas coming from all directions,

 

...we decided to leave before the kids could see

their young relatives getting drunk just like

anyone else in this seedy and sordid resort.



I cannot imagine how can one relax, read a book,

rest or even sleep in such an appalling place?

Pechelito’s  ambiance just is as convoluted as

the multiple electric wire extensions on the floor

and just as chaotic as the horrible voices from hapless,

drunk karaoke enthusiasts populating the resort.